BECOMING
MORE AUTHENTIC:THE
POSITIVE SIDE OF EXISTENTIALISM
Facebook Seminar

Authenticity means creating
our own comprehensive life-meanings.
When we re-center and re-integrate our lives
around our freely-chosen purposes,
we become more focused, unified, & decisive.
We resist enculturation and attain greater
autonomy.
This approach to re-structuring human life
was developed by several existential philosophers
and psychologists,
especially the ones discussed in this Facebook Seminar:
Camus, Sartre, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, &
Maslow.

Authenticity is more a
structure
than a content.
We individually must choose our basic life-goals.
But perhaps sharing with other persons
who
are attempting
to become more Authentic
will help us to
make
the growth choices rather than the
safe
choices.

This Facebook Seminar will discuss Authenticity
as it applies to our own lives.
Over a period of six weeks,
we will read and discuss the following 19 chapters.(Chapter
titles highlighted in blue
below
can be clicked to begin reading that chapter.)

You will need a regular Internet connection,
where you can receive and send e-mail at least once a week.
This could be either your own computer
or a computer you use at a public library, for instance. You choose the time
and place for your electronic participation. We will not attempt to have
everyone on-line at once.

You set your own style of participation:
Either you can receive all postings and comments
immediately at your chosen e-mail address
or you can visit our Group on Facebook
to interact in writing with the other seminar members.

If you want to follow the discussion every week,
select your Notification as "All Posts".
Then whenever anyone writes a comment,
it will be posted on our Facebook Display
and sent by e-mail to each member who chooses this option.

If you would like to set aside a certain time each
week
for reading and interacting with others in our seminar,
you can either select a lower level of Notifications or Off,
which will mean you must decide
exactly when to visit our seminar on Facebook
to respond to the chapters being discussed that week.
See our schedule of chapters above.

Which would work best for the way you like to use
Facebook?A Facebook Group has the additional
advantage
of being able to see the faces
of the other participants. Class
discussion will require about 30 minutes per week.
The exact time devoted to this form of becoming more Authentic
will depend on how much we have to say in response to each chapter
and how many people join this Facebook Seminar.
We might have the most to say
when we write about our own quests for greater Authenticity.

You will need access to a copy of Becoming More
Authentic.Most
participants will buy their own copies.
The printed book costs $15 in either of two bindings. Becoming More Authentic
is also available in PDF for $5.(Extra
costs apply if postage and/or electronic payment is necessary.)
Others will borrow copies from libraries.

This book is available in two different
bindings:comb binding or stapled binding.
This book is also available in PDF.
Write for details and to test your e-mail program
to see if you can receive a book in Portable Document Format (PDF).

OTHER OPTIONS FOR READING AND DISCUSSING:

Of course, it is always possible for anyone to read the bookwithout participating in the Facebook discussion.Readers who live in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesotamight have an occasional opportunity to join a face-to-face discussion of Authenticity.

Our on-line discussion allows people living anywhere on the globeto participate from their own keyboards and computer screens. They might later join a face-to-face discussion of Authenticity.Or it might happen the other way around:People who have already taken part in a face-to-face gatheringmight decide to join our Facebook discussions.

People who meet on-line in our discussions of Authenticitymight be able to create other face-to-face seminarsat other locations on the Earth.

And the book Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialismcould also be used in college courses on personal growth or existentialism.It might also be relevant for students deciding what course of study to pursue. "What is the meaning of my life?" is a relevant question at many turning points during a human life.

What other ideas occur to you?

The world-wide discussion group will be modified to suit those who wish to join.Send your questions, comments, and suggestions to me:James Park, e-mail: parkx032@umn.edu.